County court sets trial date for Aczel case

YOUNGSTOWN -- A trial is set for Aug. 24 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for Christopher Aczel, 33, of West Calla Road, who police say led them on a chase in two counties last week and is a suspect in area pharmacy break-ins. A county grand jury returned a secret indictment against Aczel on July 14. He was arraigned Tuesday before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney on several drug tracking charges. He also faces charges out of Mahoning County Court, Austintown, on three counts of felonious assault and a felony count of fleeing and eluding. He remains in county jail on $1 million bond. Aczel's case is assigned to Judge Sweeney, who will have a pretrial hearing next week. Aczel surrendered to the task force at the Beaver Township Police Department Monday morning without incident and in the presence of four officers. Authorities say Aczel led police on a two-county chase July 12 during which a Jeep driven by Aczel rammed an unmarked cruiser containing three officers at Tippecanoe Road and U.S. Route 62 in Canfield. Officers had tried to serve a search warrant on Aczel, who pulled over and then sped away, police said. The pursuit led to a wooded area in Portage County, where Aczel abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot. Aczel is suspected of breaking into several area pharmacies in recent months and taking unspecified amounts of antidepressant and antibiotic drugs.